Half Acre/Revolution - Chicago, IL

Our last two stops in Chicago were Revolution Brewing and Half Acre Brewing. I have already visited, and reviewed these.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/half-acre-beer-company-chicago-il.html
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/revolution-brewing-chicago-il.html

Revolution was a full house. I got the Deaths Tar which I was excited to try...a very strong Bourbon Aged Stout. I loved it! But it was so packed we didn't stay long.

Half Acre too was very crowded. I basically sampled every beer on the board and was sadly disappointed. The first time I visited them a year and a half ago I didn't appreciate them or even know much about them. This time I went in with high hopes after trying many of their beers and loving them. Sadly they all fell flat with me this time around. 

But both are absolutely worth a visit to judge for yourself...grab some lunch at Revolution and then go to Half Acre they aren't too far apart. Plus right around the corner from Revolution is the awesome beer store Beer Temple which I also have already reviewed.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-beer-temple-chicago-il.html

Lagunitas Brewing Company - Chicago, IL

I can't say our first stop was Lagunitas on day 1. It actually was 18th Street Brewing for a bottle release of Imperial Blud (which was all cinnamon, wasn't a fan), and Deal with the Devil Citra Pale Ale which was delicious!
After the release we moved into the city to the new Lagunitas Brewing Co...originally out of California but now operating also in Chicago. Was a little tough to find with 1 way streets everywhere, but in no time we were parked in front of this MASSIVE brewery.

Upon entering we were greeted by 4 people...1 actually working and the others lingering. Checked ID's and then on our way down a very long hallway. Can you say Willy Wonka? They had the Chocolate Factory music playing (Pure Imagination) with flashing colored lights. At the end of this hallway you are greeted by a poster made entirely of bottle caps.

You then make a left and walk down another hallway. At the end of this hallway there is another worker sitting at a desk telling you to take the stairs (a sign would do just fine, but hey not my brewery). After a few stairs, finally you get into the taproom. GIANT taproom. Lots of tables with a great view of the entire brewing process below.

We ordered our beers at the bar and grabbed a table with a nice view. A waiter came over, and sternly said if we were sitting there we should of asked because we need a waiter to be sitting there. There was probably 30 open tables...no idea we had to ask permission..but whatever.

I have had their beer before, never a HUGE fan but a fan. I got a sampler that included Born Yesterday which was a hopped up Pale Ale, Lil Sumthin' Sumthin', Sucks, and Hop Stoopid. All I can say is nothing even came close to Born Yesterday. Hands down the best beer they have ever made..it was powerful, delicious, hoppy, smelled fantastic, just wow. I then decided to get a second sampler..which is shown below also and I honestly don't even remember them. The stout was good I recall, but Born Yesterday just killed it.

Before we left we did a self tour in which you can walk all around outside the taproom and look down at the brewing process. Quick stop at the gift shop and we were on our way.

If you are in Chicago, it is worth checking this place out. They had a food menu (we didn't eat), a giant gift shop, and plenty of space. Check them out..https://lagunitas.com/taproom/chicago/

Hamburg Brewing - Hamburg, NY

For my 30th birthday I had a beer bus travel to 3 different local breweries. This was our second stop, out in Hamburg.  Out in the middle of no where was Hamburg Brewing. Plenty of parking.
Once we went in, there is a walkway, bathrooms and then you enter the taproom/restaurant.  It almost felt like a winery...very upscale looking..and with 25 semi-drunk people it almost seemed like we were out of place.

I got the 4 beer sampler that had the IPA, No Lux IPA, OMS Stout and the Derailer.  The two IPAs were good but nothing WOW.  The OMS Stout at only 5.3% didn't have much to it.  The Derailer was the stand out here.  It was a bourbon barrel stout and was fantastic!! It sticks to it's name since the next 2 hours was a blur and definetely derailed me. 

I would like to return here to eat, but great scenery outside even though it was a cold chilly early spring day, I can imagine in the summer it is beautiful! Very unique looking brewery. Check them out! www.hamburgbrewing.com/‎

Poor House Brewing - San Diego

On a day with time to kill due to San Diego brewery and bars awkward schedules we found ourselves in the Poor House Brewing neighborhood to decided to drop in.  They had just opened. This place really is the "poor house."  There was a curtain covering the adjacent room (which the bartender said is under construction to expand the bar).  The tasting room was very small with just the bar with some stools, some window seating and a shuffle board table. 

Our bartender was very nice and seemed to enjoy working there.  She said they are currently trying to expand the tasting room, but it is a work in progress..long progress. 

As for the beer I got a 4 beer sampler and had the Experimental Batch no. 6 IPA, Bitter Side Imperial IPA, Cluster Fukk IPA, and 30 Hop IPA.  None were HORRIBLE, but none were AMAZING.  The stand out for me was either 30 Hop or No. 6. 

Just like Mike Hess Brewing, minus the ambiance, this place is cool to check out another San Diego brewery, but with some many in the city this wouldn't be my top of the list.  But hey..check them out if you have the time! www.poorhousebrew.com

Mike Hess Brewing - San Diego, CA

We were in San Diego to try some of the best beer in the country! While we were killing time til a local bar opened with a great tap list, we stumbled upon Mike Hess Brewing and checked them out. Apparently it used to be called simply Hess Brewing, but Mike I think wanted some more attention. 

The facility itself is beautiful. You walk down a narrow bridge that overlooks the brewing process.  Upon entering the tasting room, you see lots of seating and a giant bar in the corner.  The seating and the ambiance is quite nice. 

I ordered a sampler, which came with 5 beers AND you get a free beer glass, great deal! I had the Unite Pale Ale which was sweet but tasty, Habitus Rye IPA was okay a little too sweet for me, Solis Occassus IPA was the best beer I had...pretty hoppy, Deceptio Black IPA was good, and the Umbrix Rye Imperial Stout was shockingly VERY good (the bartender recommended this one).

They bottle a lot of their beers.  The prices are low, they're open early, the ambiance is great, great location, good merchandise, their beer for me just didn't match up to some of the better San Diego breweries...but as a local hang out place heck yeah! Check them out...www.hessbrewing.com/‎

Societe Brewing Co - San Diego, CA

Hands out, best brewery in San Diego (in my opinion).  We got to visit the brewery twice.  This place has already made it's spot in my top 5 favorites of all time.  Leading into this trip, we already knew this place would be awesome. Their beer, The Pupil, had already made it into the top 10 IPAs on beeradvocate. 
So we headed there our first day in town, very exciting, and got to visit once more on our last day there. The building itself is in a business park area. The first day we went parking was scarce because so many people were there for work around the area.  But when we went back it was a Sunday and barely anyone in sight.

When you walk in, you just see a giant open space.  They have a nice L shaped bar with a massive chalkboard beer menu above the taps. 

For food, they do not make any, but they have food trucks very often and have food menus that allow you to order out from local take out places.

Their awesome art work for each of their beers.

But now onto the most important part...the beer! They serve their beer in 12oz glasses.  Each beer is $4. You also can get 2 tasters at a time that are $1 a piece.  I either tasted or had a glass of just about all the beers. Let me review them one by one...

The Pupil...as good as expected. A very hoppy, 7.5% IPA that was just incredible.  I can see why it is top 10.
The Apprentice...same as The Pupil it is 7.5%, it has a different taste to it but in my opinion it is just as good as The Pupil.  I loved this beer!
The Publican...5.5% pale ale, very hoppy and very good!
The Dandy...6.2% IPA, we got a growler of this along with The Pupil that first night and loved it! Which leaves us now with 3 IPAs that I had no complaints about...hence why I love this place.
The Pugilist..5.2% Dry Stout, for the % it is fantastic! Very tasty.
The Haberdasher...5.2% English IPA, I never really like any beer with the word English in it and unfortunately even Societe couldn't change that. It was okay, but my love for their other beers was too much to enjoy this whatsoever.
The Bellowsman...6.2% Smoked Stout, definitely got the smoke taste but wasn't overpowering, a GREAT stout.
The Butcher...9.8% Imperial Stout. Fantastic Imp Stout. No complains at all, this was a great beer.

They had a few others but I am not a fan of strong ales and belgians.  But if you can't tell, I tried 8 of their beers and only 1 was OKAY. The rest ranged from good to very good to amazing and that is rare for a brewery.  This place in the next couple years will be extremely well known! As long as they keep doing what their doing.
As for merchandise, they sold 2 types of glasses..a goblet and a 12oz tall glass.  Stickers, and stainless steel growlers. Visit them and check them out...www.societebrewing.com/

Elevator Brewing - Columbus, OH

Our last brewery stop in Columbus was Elevator Brewing.  I knew this was the most tourist of them all, plus it is located right downtown.  Real nice from the outside and the inside has plenty of space and a very giant bar area.

For happy hour many apps were only 5$ so we ordered pot stickers and calamari to snack on. Both were very tasty, good quantity and only 5$!

As for the beer, you can order samples so we got 3 each.  The Bear Ass Pale was kinda hoppy but smooth, Xtra was just okay, Mojabi Double was really nice and real hoppy, Flying Hydrant was light and crisp, Heiferweizen was good for a Hefe, and the Three Frogs IPA was good but nothing special.

As I expected the beer didn't blow me away, food was good, service was very good the guy working the bar was excellent and very nice.  If you visit Columbus it is highly worth stopping in, but I wouldn't expect greatness from the beer but for a place to enjoy a good beer and good food hell yeah! Check them out www.elevatorbrewing.com/‎

North High Brewing - Columbus, OH

North High Brewing is located on the strip known as Short North. Basically 3/4 mile of shops, restaurants, antiques and much more. It is located basically at the end of this fun little strip.  From the outside, it looked foreclosed...shady windows and the area itself looked a little dead.  But come to find once we were inside it was roomy and really nice. 

 The brewery can be seen right behind the bar.

They make a big selection of beers.  We got the sampler which included all of them:
White wheat was real light and easy to drink
Wildcard English Ale Nitro was smooth and had a very sweet taste.
Queen Maudine Milk Stout Nitro was only 6%..it wasn't bad but even better knowing it was only 6%.
Olentangy Brown Ale was a little hoppy, not bad.
Red Ale was okay, had a very interesting after taste I couldn't pinpoint.
London Gentleman ESB nothing special but wasn't horrible.
Poolside Pale Ale was real hoppy and quite good.
Imperial IPA was a little too sweet for me, like candy.
Old Fort Porter was tasty.
Vanilla Bourbon Porter definitely had the bourbon taste, real nice.

We were the only customers when we were here, but it WAS like 3pm on a Wednesday.  The guys who were working were really nice, talkative and helpful.  Worth checking out for sure! www.northhighbrewing.com/‎

Columbus Brewing Company - Columbus, OH

This was the big one I was looking forward to! And it did not disappoint. Located in the Brewery District of Columbus, it is kind of tucked away but not hard to find.  Plenty of parking lot parking. 

I didn't bother with a sampler here because all I wanted was the Bohdi which I have had in the past, but man is that a good Double IPA! I also tried the pale ale and their wheat beer...not shocking both were fantastic.
We started off with preztel bread which came with two different types of mustard. They were real good, nothing special but good.

Next we split a Caesar salad, which they split for us in two different bowls.  And lastly we split the Bye Bye Miss American Pie pizza which consists of hose made fennel sausage, sliced banana peppers, pepperoni and smoked provolone. It was excellent and it was buy a pint get a pizza half off night, so it was only like 6$!

 Our server was beyond excellent,  food was really good, beer was outstanding, and I just had a great time here. This is the MUST stop brewery if you are in Columbus.  Check them out...columbusbrewingco.com

Zauber Brewing - Columbus, OH

Not much I can say here because I didn't get to try their beers.  The facility is beautiful, as you can see below. 

The bartender...forgot his name, was excellent and very friendly.  This place is all set to be a great brewery..once they have the beer.  A gift shop/growler fill station is located outside the bar, inside there are plenty of tables and a bunch of TVs. 

They have about 12 beers on tap..mostly all local beers, and every Thursday they tap a couple of their own but quantities are small.  They hope to be serving daily very soon. 
They sell t-shirts, magnets, all different types of glasses, growlers, and more! I hope to see them succeed because it looks very promising. Check them out...zbeers.com